Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has established formal diplomatic relations with the Principality of Monaco and the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"). Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations, signed instruments with his counterparts from Monaco and the UAE on the 12th and 20th of February 2009, respectively.

The establishment of relations with Monaco and the UAE represent further consolidation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' active diplomatic outreach, which seeks to build mutually beneficial partnerships to address Vincentian interests in the context of an ever-evolving global environment. In addition to the relationships with Monaco and the UAE, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has signed similar agreements in recent months with the Union of Comoros, the Republic of Djibouti, the Dominican Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Republic of Senegal.

Monaco is a small state with no natural resources, much like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Nonetheless, Monaco has managed to develop a thriving economy based on high-end niche tourism and sophisticated financial services. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines sees not only opportunities to cooperate with Monaco to share developmental and technical expertise, but also to forge partnerships and positions based on the two States' mutual interests in the tourism and financial sectors.

The United Arab Emitates is also small, though much larger than either Monaco or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The UAE is also increasingly dependent on high-end tourism to buttress its export of oil and petroleum products. Additionally, the UAE invests heavily in developing countries, and expertise in infrastructural development, particularly sea ports, airports and city planning.

THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO

Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Ambassador Gilles Noghes of the Principality of Monaco signed instruments establishing formal relations between the two countries.

Monaco is the second-smallest independent State in the world. Monaco is located between France and Italy, and its population is 33,000, making it the most densely populated independent State. The people of Monaco speak French. The GDP (PPP) of Monaco is approximately $976 million. Monaco's economy is based primarily on tourism, financial services, and small industries, such as cosmetics and biothermics.

Ambassador Ahmed A Al-Jarman of the United Arab Emirates and Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines signed instruments establishing formal relations between the two countries.

The United Arab Emirates ("UAE") is a seven-state federation located in the Persian Gulf, and bordered by Oman and Saudi Arabia. The diverse population of UAE is 4.6 million, and the State's official language is Arabic. The GDP (PPP) of UAE is approximately $200 billion. The highly developed and rapidly-growing UAE economy is centered on oil and petroleum, tourism, and services.